Epson PictureMate Dash PM 260

The Epson PictureMate Dash (PM260) looks a lot like its predecessors, the PictureMates Pal, Snap, and Flash. It stands 13.6 inches wide, 9.1 inches deep, and 8.7 inches tall, and weighs just 5.3 pounds. Although it has traded the all silver look for a white and dark gray exterior, it retains the high tech picnic basket look with a pivoting handle and lid.

The lid opens to reveal the control panel, and also serves as the input support for photo paper. A panel on the front opens to catch prints. One big improvement over last year's PictureMate lineup is the huge 3.6 inch LCD that flips up. This is larger than the LCD on the Flash, which was last year's high end model.

The on board control panel consists of a menu button four direction keys and an OK button for navigating the menus a zoom button a thumbnail display key and stop and start buttons.

Two memory card slots are mounted on the front and accept most major types, though some will require an adapter (not included).

The printer also offers a USB port for connecting PictBridge devices, storage drives, and an optional Bluetooth adapter, but it's located in the back.

Because the printer is small, it's not difficult to turn it around to access the USB port, but it would be more convenient to have it on the front of the printer.

The PictureMate Dash comes with enough ink and paper to produce approximately 20 4x6 prints. It uses four color printing, and the ink comes in a single large cartridge that pops into a slot in the back of the printer. Paper and ink are sold together in print packs, with the amount of ink calibrated for the amount of paper. Epson offers both glossy and matte paper.

The glossy pack costs $38 and comes with 150 sheets of paper, while the matte pack costs $32.30 and comes with 100 sheets of paper. This works out to a per print cost (for paper and ink) of 25.3 cents for glossy and 32.3 cents for matte. These costs are in line with those from Epson's competitors.

Epson Stylus Photo 1400

The Stylus Photo 1400, since it lists for $150 less than the Stylus Photo R1800, which is the next step up in Epson's 13 inch line. However, photographers looking for more neutral black and white prints should take a look at Epson's Stylus Photo R2400, which earned high scores for its mastery of monochromatic printing.When I was in grade school, printers were massive, ugly, heavy behemoths clad in industrial looking tan plastic.

Color wasn't an option, and the dot matrix print engine sounded as if it was etching your words into a wood plaque instead of churning out a book report. Thankfully, that has changed. Sleek silver and black styling keeps the Stylus Photo 1400 from becoming an eyesore in your home office. Despite that, it's still a bit large, measuring 24.2x12.4x8.8 inches when it's all closed up.

Once you open it fully to print, the machine grows to 24.2x31.6x16.3 inches. Fans of PictBridge printing, which lets you print directly from your camera by connecting it to the printer via USB, will appreciate the convenience of the 1400's front panel USB jack.

But, unlike some of its competitors, this Epson doesn't include a card reader, so you can't print directly from a memory card.

Epson probably thinks that the market for this printer is too advanced for that feature, but it does come in handy from time to time.

Epson does include the ability to print onto CDs and DVDs, both full size and their smaller 8cm cousins used in camcorders. Just be sure you get the ones with the special white surface on top. As usual with the Stylus Photo line, the inks load from the top. In this case, that means six ink cartridges cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, and light magenta.

Like most home printers, paper loads from the top of the back and emerges, after printing, onto the tray that extends from the front of the unit. The input tray can hold as many as 120 sheets of plain paper or up to 20 sheets of Epson photo paper, depending on paper size and type. Epson says the printer can accept media up to 0.11mm thick in sizes ranging from 4x6 to 13x44 inches. There's no roll feed option though, so you'll have to find fulfillment with cut sheet media.

Epson Stylus Pro 3800

It's worth noting that the Stylus Pro 3800 isn't for everyone. Its wide tonal range, long lasting prints, fantastic black and white printing, accurate color prints, and wide array of paper types make it wonderful for enthusiasts and professionals. But, if you don't plan on selling your prints, or you lean toward scrap booking instead of fine art printing, you may be more economically served by something such as Epson's Stylus Photo R2400 or R1800, HP's Photosmart 8750 or Canon's i9900.

Plus, any of these other printers will take up less desk space than the Stylus Pro 3800. However, if you're after the best print quality available for less than $1,300, this printer should definitely be toward the top of your list. And if you plan to use the printer for proofing, Epson offers a professional edition, which includes the same hardware but also ships with professional RIP software.

Despite all the major improvements that have occurred in home photo printers in the last few years, big time prints still require a big printer. But, even though it's a lot larger than most home printers, Epson's Stylus Pro 3800 manages to fit the same print engine as that of the company's much revered Stylus Pro 4800 into a unit that can fit comfortably, if a bit snugly, into a home office. Somehow, the 3800 manages to come across as both blocky and stylish at least to photo geeks at the same time.

Upon further inspection though, the efficiency and intricacies of Epson's design shine through. More than half of the front panel flips down and slides forward to become the output tray. The further the tray is extended, the more it rises up to meet the paper so that especially large prints are less likely to hit a snag on the tray as they emerge.

On top, the back section flips up to become the input tray, the middle section flips up to provide access to the print head and the paper path, and about three quarters of the fore ward most section of the top and the front section above the output tray opens to reveal the ink cartridges. Just be careful to prevent mishaps, the ink cartridge door can only be opened through the printer controls, so don't try to force it open manually.

Next to the ink cartridge door there's a small monochrome LCD screen, a set of controls, and the power button. The screen displays the ink remaining in each of the printer's nine cartridges and which type of black ink is currently in use, and it provides direct menu access for maintenance and paper handling, as well as status reports on many of the actions the printer performs, such as switching between matte and photo black inks.

In addition to the regular paper input tray, which can hold as many as 120 sheets of plain paper or 60 sheets of Epson photo paper (depending on the paper type), there's a separate, slightly straighter path for fine art papers, which accepts only one sheet at a time from its own short feeder tray. Epson calls this the Manual Rear paper source in its driver. For very thick stock, up to 1.5mm thick, you can use the Manual Front paper source, which loads one sheet at a time from a slot just above the output tray.

If you use the front loading option, you'll have to make sure there's adequate clearance behind the printer. In the case of 13x19 inch paper, that means 13.39 inches, and for A2 size paper, you'll need 17.71 inches. As long as you have the room for it, Epson makes the front loading process very simple with a tray that lowers into place and has guides to help you align your paper.

Epson PictureMate Pal PM200

The PictureMate Pal resembles a small, high tech picnic basket, complete with pivoting handle and basket lid. The lid flips up to reveal a 2 inch color LCD and a few buttons, and the lid also doubles as the paper input support. One of the buttons, labeled Open, opens a panel on the front of the printer. This panel conceals two memory card slots and does double duty as the output tray.

The unit measures 8.5 inches wide, 6 inches deep, and 5.7 inches tall, all folded up, and weighs only 5.3 pounds. Its handle and small size make it portable, but you'll have to carry along the included AC adapter and power cord, which can be unwieldy. (The Snap and Flash versions both have optional internal batteries for truly hassle free portability.)

The other buttons include power, menu, Select All, OK, cancel, print, forward and back buttons for navigating the menu or scrolling through pictures, and a layout button that toggles through your layout options.

The memory card slots accept all major types of memory cards, though some require an adapter. In the back of the printer lives a USB port for printing from PictBridge enabled cameras.

The Snap and Flash versions allow you to use the USB port for connecting external storage devices, but the Pal does not.

Setting up the PictureMate Pal is a simple task, whether you are using it with or without a PC.

If you want to do PC free printing, simply plug in the power adapter, insert the ink cartridge, and power up. The first time you do this, you'll have to wait a few minutes for the ink cartridge to charge. To print, simply insert a memory card and follow the instructions on the LCD. If you want to print all of the pictures on the card, just hit the Select All button, choose how many copies of each image you want (you have to print the same number of each photo), and hit the green print button.

If you want to pick and choose, scroll through the images using the arrow keys. You can print images one at a time as you look at them or scroll through the entire batch (changing image settings and the number of copies as you go) and print all your selected images in one fell swoop.

Epson Stylus CX7800

The Epson Stylus CX7800 is essentially a souped up version of the CX4800. It has the same bread box like form in the same gray, silver, and fake chrome plastics, but it's slightly bigger (17x16.6x7.83 inches, 21.16 pounds) and it has a more substantial scanner lid and a more elaborate front panel that includes a 1.5 inch backlit color LCD.

Like the CX4800, the CX7800's 100 sheet input and 30 sheet output trays fold neatly into the body of the printer to create a contained unit that's much easier to dust than your average all in one that's full of nooks and crannies. The CX7800 comes with a plastic grid to hold film and slides for scanning, and this can be stored in the scan lid when it's not in use.

The scan lid comes unhinged to accommodate thicker scan or copy materials and the "hood" of the printer lifts up to reveal the individual ink cartridges and the USB connector (cable not included), which is hidden in the body of the printer to prevent accidental unplugging.

Where the CX4800 relies on a strip of buttons for its all in one functions, the CX7800 has the aforementioned LCD, plus a series of buttons arranged in clusters according to function.

There's a three way cluster that toggles through copy features (fit to page, 100 percent), memory card features (print select photos, print all PictBridge, print index sheet, print from index sheet), and film or photo features (where you can specify what type of material you're scanning).

Other buttons on the top panel include a Setup or Utilities button that runs through basic functions such as cleaning and aligning the print head, and borderless printing. But it also offers task specific functions such as number of copies (1-99) when you're in copy mode, and the ability to select what type of film or negative you're scanning when you're in film or photo mode.

There are arrow buttons for things such as increasing quantities and scrolling through photos on a media card, plus buttons for toggling between paper types and sizes (say, plain, photo, 4x6, letter), and a big old start button for launching your selected task. The whole interface is intuitively designed and everything is clearly labeled so that one turn through the menu for each function should be enough to learn how to use the CX7800.

Lexmark X9350

The Lexmark X9350 is reasonably sized for an inkjet all in one device. It stands 18.3 inches wide, 15.1 inches deep, and 10.6 inches tall, and it weighs less than 23 pounds. Its glossy white and brushed silver body evokes the Apple aesthetic. An ADF sits atop the scanner cover and can hold up to 50 sheets of originals. Using the ADF, you can scan or copy legal size documents the largest original the flatbed scanner can accommodate is A4.

The X9350's paper handling options are basic and straight forward. The input tray pulls out from the front of the printer and holds up to 150 sheets of plain paper. The cover of the input tray serves as the output tray, and a pullout arm helps to corral longer sheets. In the bowels of the output tray resides a small media feeder, which lets you manually insert single sheets of photo paper or envelopes for one off prints (as opposed to swapping out the contents of the input tray).

We had significant problems printing photos via the manual feed tray no matter what adjustments we made, they came out crooked. When we loaded the 4x6 photo paper into the main paper tray, though, we didn't have any problems. You can purchase an optional second input tray for a total input of 300 sheets. You can also adjust the input tray to accommodate a length of tear off sheets for banner prints.

The front of the printer also houses a photo printing "bay" of sorts: four media card slots and a USB or PictBridge port for PC free printing. The media card slots accept all major types of cards, though some may require an adapter. The PictBridge port lets you print straight from PictBridge enabled cameras and also doubles as a USB port for printing from USB devices, such as flash thumb drives.

The control panel is clean and easy to use. A 2.4 inch color LCD folds up from the panel, allowing you to find the best viewing angle. The menu is easy to navigate using four direction keys and an OK key. The alphanumeric keypad lets you dial in fax numbers or change the number of copies you want to make. The Lexmark X9350 uses a two tank ink system one black and one color cyan, magenta, and yellow.

For better photo printing, you can swap out the black tank for a tricolor photo ink tank, giving you six color prints. Lexmark charges $25 for each replacement cartridge. While the two tank system is easier to maintain, we still prefer individual ink tanks because they reduce waste and keep more money in your pocket.

Lexmark E250dn

The Lexmark E250dn looks very similar to the recently reviewed E350d. Sitting 10.2 inches tall, 14.1 inches wide, and 15.6 inches deep, it has a small footprint for a laser printer, making it a perfect fit for a small office or a dorm room. And weighing just 25 pounds, it's not too hard to move to a different spot should the need arise.

The input tray can hold up to 250 sheets of plain paper, and an optional, 550 sheet paper drawer ($200) brings the maximum input to 800 pages. A single sheet manual input slot with adjustable paper guides lives in the front for one off prints. The top mounted output tray has a fold out flap to corral long sheets of paper and a single sheet exit door lives in the rear of the printer (opening this door automatically engages the rear exit mode).

The input tray can be extended to hold legal size sheets, though this will cause the tray to jut out of the back of the printer for this scenario, Lexmark thoughtfully includes a snap on cover that will keep dust out of your paper tray.

The E250 series printers lack an LCD for perusing menus. The control panel is comprised of five indicator lights (error, paper jam, load paper, refill toner, and ready) and two buttons (cancel and resume).

The indicator lights shine in various combinations, and the user guide helps you to decipher their meaning.

We definitely prefer an LCD, even if it's just a two line text window, but other monochrome laser printers in this price range also lack one, so we can't fault Lexmark too much. Both the E250d and E250dn ship with a 1,500 page starter toner cartridge. Replacement cartridges can print about 3,500 pages and cost $157, for a per page cost of 4.5 cents.

If you buy cartridges under Lexmark's return cartridge program (customers promise to use the cartridge only once and return the spent cartridge to Lexmark for reuse or recycling), you get a discounted price of $132, for a per page cost of 3.8 cents. The per page costs are a bit high for a monochrome laser printer but not surprising, considering the low price of the printer itself.

Like the E350 and C530 series printers, the E250 printers employ a two part cartridge design. The photo conductor has a longer lifespan than the toner cartridges, so with this design, you don't need to discard a still good component when the toner runs out. We really like this change.

Lexmark E450dn

The Lexmark E350d is very compact for a mono laser printer, measuring just 14 inches wide by 15.6 inches deep by 10.2 inches tall. It's not that heavy, either, weighing in at a mere 25 pounds, so it's not too difficult to move. The front mounted control panel is simple, with just a two line text LCD, a Cancel button, and five buttons to navigate the on screen Menu. The Menu is basic, owing to the no frills function of the printer, with easy and intuitive navigation.

Both the E352dn and the E450dn use the same body. All three models in this series come with a 250 sheet paper drawer, as well as a single sheet manual feed slot. The paper drawer has adjustable paper guides that accommodate up to legal size paper, though doing so will cause the drawer to jut out from the rear of the printer.

Lexmark thoughtfully includes a dust cover for just this scenario it covers the extended portion of the paper tray to keep dust out and also to prevent the tray from being shoved forward from the rear.

The top mounted output tray can hold up to 150 sheets. In the rear of the printer is a single sheet output, a great option for media that may curl and jam when heated. You may opt for an additional 550 sheet drawer, bringing the maximum input capacity to 800 pages.

One of the main differences between the models is the size of the included toner cartridge. The E350d ships with a 1,500 page cartridge, the E352dn ships with a 3,000 page cartridge, and the E450dn ships with a 6,000 page cartridge.

The E350d and E352dn offer the same toner replacement options a $157, 3,500 page cartridge and a $267, 9,000 page cartridge. Both cartridges also are available at a discount under Lexmark's return cartridge program. Users promise to use the toner cartridge only once (you can refill toner cartridges yourself using commercially available kits, but printer vendors insist that this reduces the quality of the prints) and to return the spent cartridge to Lexmark.

Under this program, the 3,500 page unit costs $132 and the 9,000 page unit costs $242. Replacement cartridge size options for the E450dn are 6,000 pages ($166, or $141 with the discount) and 11,000 pages ($239, or $214 with the discount). For the lowest cost per page, you should use the high capacity cartridges. In the case of the E350d, the per page cost using the 9,000 page cartridge (regular price) is about 3 cents a decent, but not particularly impressive price, for a personal laser printer.

Lexmark E350d

The Lexmark E350d is very compact for a mono laser printer, measuring just 14 inches wide by 15.6 inches deep by 10.2 inches tall. It's not that heavy, either, weighing in at a mere 25 pounds, so it's not too difficult to move. The front mounted control panel is simple, with just a two line text LCD, a Cancel button, and five buttons to navigate the on screen Menu.

The Menu is basic, owing to the no frills function of the printer, with easy and intuitive navigation. Both the E352dn and the E450dn use the same body. All three models in this series come with a 250 sheet paper drawer, as well as a single sheet manual feed slot. The paper drawer has adjustable paper guides that accommodate up to legal size paper, though doing so will cause the drawer to jut out from the rear of the printer.

Lexmark thoughtfully includes a dust cover for just this scenario it covers the extended portion of the paper tray to keep dust out and also to prevent the tray from being shoved forward from the rear. The top mounted output tray can hold up to 150 sheets. In the rear of the printer is a single sheet output, a great option for media that may curl and jam when heated. You may opt for an additional 550 sheet drawer, bringing the maximum input capacity to 800 pages.

One of the main differences between the models is the size of the included toner cartridge. The E350d ships with a 1,500 page cartridge, the E352dn ships with a 3,000 page cartridge, and the E450dn ships with a 6,000 page cartridge. The E350d and E352dn offer the same toner replacement options a $157, 3,500 page cartridge and a $267, 9,000 page cartridge.

Both cartridges also are available at a discount under Lexmark's return cartridge program. Users promise to use the toner cartridge only once (you can refill toner cartridges yourself using commercially available kits, but printer vendors insist that this reduces the quality of the prints) and to return the spent cartridge to Lexmark. Under this program, the 3,500 page unit costs $132 and the 9,000 page unit costs $242.

Replacement cartridge size options for the E450dn are 6,000 pages ($166, or $141 with the discount) and 11,000 pages ($239, or $214 with the discount). For the lowest cost per page, you should use the high capacity cartridges. In the case of the E350d, the per page cost using the 9,000 page cartridge (regular price) is about 3 cents a decent, but not particularly impressive price, for a personal laser printer.

Lexmark C530dn

The Lexmark C530dn is a behemoth of a printer, as color lasers tend to be (individual toner cartridges take up a lot of space). The C530dn's toner cartridges are stacked vertically, resulting in a tall unit 19 inches tall by 17 inches wide by 20 inches deep. It weighs a back breaking 57 pounds, but two hand wells on either side help you get a grip if you need to move the printer around. The control panel is very basic.

A four line text LCD is the centerpiece, though it's not backlit, so it can be difficult to read in bad lighting conditions. Only eight buttons adorn the panel. Menu, four direction keys, a Check key, a Back key, and a Stop key. The C530dn comes with a 250 sheet input tray that can expand to hold legal size paper, as well as a 100 sheet multipurpose feeder that folds out from the front panel of the paper tray.

You don't get any paper expansion options on this model, but it should be sufficient for home users. If you're in a small office environment and need expanded paper handling.

The Lexmark C532n model offers the same 250 sheet tray plus an optional 550 sheet drawer, though you lose the multipurpose tray in favor of a single sheet manual feed slot (for an 800 page max input).

The next step up is the C532dn, which offers the 250 sheet tray, the 100 sheet multipurpose feeder, and the optional 550 sheet tray, for a total input capacity of 900 pages. The C530 series machines lack straight pass through printing, a potential problem if you're using paper that has a tendency to jam when curled. The Oki C5500n does include this feature. All three models in Lexmark's C530 come standard with a 375MHz processor and 128MB of RAM (The memory can be expanded up to 640MB).

The C530 series printers also come equipped with a USB connector and an Ethernet jack for network printing. You can opt for a Wi-Fi adapter, too, for wireless printing. Using the printer's Menu option, you can change some settings including brightness, contrast, and saturation make collated prints or make a multipage print to fit multiple pages (up to 16) onto one sheet of paper.

Lexmark P350

The white and silver P350 is small and lightweight. It measures 9.2 inches wide by 5.8 inches deep by 5 inches tall and weighs 4.1 pounds. The fold up handle makes it easy to tote around, but the included power cord and adapter put a bit of a damper on the portability. We would like to see an optional battery pack for this printer, but even the more expensive Epson PictureMate Pal and Canon Selphy DS810 don't offer a battery option.

On top of the printer is a 2.4 inch color LCD that's mounted on a swivel, which allows the screen to move through a range of about 90 degrees. We like this feature because it lets you optimize the viewing angle for various lighting conditions. The simple control panel features four arrow keys, a check mark button (that is, an OK button), and a back button for navigating menus, plus a button with a palette icon for tweaking images, a one touch red eye reduction button, and a print button.

On the back of the printer lives the input tray, which can hold up to 25 sheets of photo paper. The printer accepts various sizes of paper, up to 4x8 inches, which is a somewhat unusual size, at least in the United States.

If you were to print a 4x6 image on 4x8 paper, you would get a white border around the image, but if you were to print a 4x8 image from a program such as Photoshop, you could make a 4x8 borderless print on the P350.

On the front, there's an output tray, a USB port for flash storage devices or PictBridge cameras, and memory card slots.

You can use the Lexmark P350 as a stand alone snapshot printer, or you can connect it to your PC. If you're setting it up in stand alone mode, simply follow the instructions to insert the single tricolor ink tank and plug in the power cable. If you're setting it up to print from a PC, simply insert the driver CD into your PC and click through the wizard.

To start printing straight from the P350, insert a memory card into the appropriate slot or plug your camera or another flash storage device into the USB port. Using the menu, you can print all the photos on the card in one fell swoop, or all the photos taken on particular dates, or a range of photos. If you're feeling more selective, you can scroll through the photos individually to pick images, make adjustments to them, and print the whole batch when you're done reviewing them.

Finally, you can view all the photos as a slide show and choose pictures on the fly, though the only adjustments you can make in this case are to turn on red eye reduction or rotate the image. You can also print all the photos in index form, which lays out 12 images per 4x6 sheet. This turns out to be less useful than it should be.

The photos on the index sheet are labeled with their filename, but when you scroll through the photos on the LCD, you only see the photo number. To be truly useful, the P350 should give the same set of information in both places (or better yet, both sets of information), so that you could quickly skip through to the image you're interested in, using the index as a reference, which is something the Epson PictureMate Pal and the Selphy DS810 do.

Lexmark X 7675 Pro

Lexmark outfits the X7675 in an attractive black finish with silver side paneling and clean, rounded edges that give it an original flair, as opposed to previous versions that looked too much like made for Mac clones. We're happy to see Lexmark take a unique stand on their chassis design. The printer measures 8 inches high by 19 inches wide by 14 inches deep and only weighs 19 pounds, making it easy to unplug and transport around the home or office.

The front of the printer is pretty basic except for a media card reader on the right side that supports PictBridge USB, SD, MS, xD, MMC, CF, and MD cards as well as a center control panel that folds on a hinge for adjustable viewing angles. The buttons on the control panel range access the most common device settings and include keys for your on screen address book, copy, scan, fax, photo shortcuts, toggles for one and two sided or black and white prints, a cancel button, and a button that takes you to more specific device settings.

While we appreciate the time Lexmark saves by including the toggle keys, we're disappointed that the panel is missing one touch autodial buttons. Our favorite control panel lives on the HP Officejet J6480. It's the basis for all other printer comparisons based on its intuitive layout, two line display with ink maintenance alerts, and a comprehensive set of tactile shortcut buttons.

The paper input tray sits up on top of the printer and can hold up to 100 sheets of paper using the industry standard adjustable arm that stretches horizontally to fit paper sizes up to 8.5 inches by 17 inches. Again, Lexmark hurts our enthusiasm by not including any advanced to paper handling technology, especially after we've fallen in love with the HP J6480's massive 250 sheet input tray offered at the same price as the X7675.

Nevertheless, we had no problem loading plain 20 pound paper into the tray, but the tray that's supposed to catch prints on the way out is too short even with the extra plastic foot extended, the printer sent paper flying off our desk. We solved the problem by manually organizing finished prints and smaller media like photo paper so it didn't shoot out onto the floor, but it's definitely something to be aware of while you're using it. The X7675 also features an auto document feeder that can hold up to 25 pages for copies, faxes, or scans.

Lexmark Z2420

The shape of the Z2420 is much more contoured than last year's model, with rounded edges instead of straight lines. Built in Wi-Fi networking and its lightweight size (4.9 inches by 18.0 inches by 9 inches) make it easy to move around the home office without getting weighed down or tangled up in cords.

The paper feeder on top of the printer holds 100 pages of standard paper, but we found some serious fault in its mechanical design the paper sits slightly angled down and to the right in the tray, so when the printer spools the media to begin printing, the awkward position creates some nasty printer jams.

Even worse, the software driver wouldn't let us cancel the document, and we had to restart our computer and power cycle the printer to start from scratch.

Finally, Lexmark went with a dark, battleship gray instead of continuing with the Z1420's glossy white, so if you're looking for a printer to match your fifth gen Apple iPod, buy the older Z1420 the internal hardware is so similar you won't notice the difference.

The Z2420 houses two cartridge bays one for tricolor (cyan, magenta, and yellow) and another for standard black. According to Lexmark, the included cartridges should yield around 175 pages, but ours didn't even make it through our testing, which is unusual for a photo inkjet. They also offer XL cartridges capable of printing 500 color pages for $35, or $0.07 per page.

One of the most appealing features is the 802.11 b/g wireless print server built right into the back, so it's easy to add the printer to your network and print cable free from a number of different computers.

We followed the onscreen instructions provided by the driver software and found it easiest to establish a USB connection first, then add the wireless networking. From there, we installed the driver onto other desktops connected to the same network and were able to print without getting tangled up in long Ethernet cords.

Lexmark X7550

The Lexmark x7550 uses a four inkjet system comprised of an individual port for black and another single port for the color cartridge (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow). Along with the standard output cartridges that they include with the printer, Lexmark also sells high yield ink that, when paired with Lexmark's photo specific glossy paper, will reportedly last up to 100 years with no visible loss in quality.

We'll be sure to report back in 2108. All of the classic features found in all in ones are included in the x7550, including duplex copying, color photo printing, and fax capability.

This model is one of three recently released standalone devices to include a built in 802.11g wireless print station.

After establishing a wired connection to our Mac desktop using Lexmark's software, we were able to unplug the x7550 for seamless, cord free transmission.

We also successfully paired the x7550 to an Apple Time Capsule with similar ease. Several computers can connect, queue and print jobs from the printer at the same time. Best of all, your documents are protected by the computer's network security, helping to prevent intruders from accessing sensitive information.

Lexmark X4550

The Lexmark X4550 is a high end version of the X3550, which we reviewed recently. The two printers offer the same design and feature set, with the exception that the X4550 adds wireless networking for an additional $50 (though it lacks an Ethernet port for wired networking). The X4550 is also rated to perform more quickly than the X3550, so the focus this review will be on performance since the two printers are so similar otherwise.

(For an overview and analysis of the X4550's design, feature set, and support package, please refer to the review of the X3550.) Overall, the Lexmark X4550 produces mediocre prints and is a bit slow at tasks other than text printing. Its big draw is the fact that not only is it a $130 network ready machine, but it comes with wireless networking standard.

If you're a casual home user who prioritizes network readiness, the Lexmark X4550 is a bargain. But if your focus is on print quality, check out the Canon Pixma MP460. When compared to its comparably priced competition, the Lexmark X4550 proved to be quick with text prints and gray scale scans.

But it was positively sluggish at graphics prints and 4x6 photos, as well as pokey with color scans. It scored 7.66 pages per minute for black text, a full page faster than the Canon Pixma MP510. But it scored a slow 1.04ppm for color graphics. Even worse was its photo print speed a mere 0.40ppm for a 4x6 photo.

The HP Photosmart C5280 was the next slowest, but still nearly doubled the pace with a score of 0.76ppm. The X4550 came back with grayscale scans 5.74ppm but faltered with color scans 4.77ppm. Comparing the X4550 to the X3550, the former beat the latter soundly at text prints but fell a bit behind with graphics prints and scans. It was soundly trounced, too, in 4x6 photo prints.

Lexmark X500n

The Lexmark X502n is a behemoth of a printer. It measures 21 inches tall, 19 inches wide, and 17.2 inches deep, and weighs a hefty 77 pounds. It's possible to move it yourself (speaking from experience) but not recommended, for fear of dropping the printer and breaking both it and your toes. The multifunction unit that sits atop the printer comprises a flatbed scanner, an automatic document feeder, and the control panel.

The flatbed scanner is only big enough to scan A4 or letter size originals, but using the ADF, you can scan legal size documents, too. The ADF can hold up to 35 pages.

The X502n comes with a 250 sheet input tray that can be configured to hold up to legal size paper. An optional 530 page drawer is available, too. Unfortunately, there's no manual feed slot, so one off prints still have to go through the main drawer.

The output well, located below the control panel, can hold up to 250 sheets. The control panel is basic and well organized.

Three buttons let you switch between copy, scan, and fax tasks. For faxing, there's an alphanumeric keypad, 10 one touch dial buttons (and a shift key, for a total of 20 one touch numbers), and redial, hook, and directory buttons. The standard reduce or enlarge, lighter and darker, image quality, menu navigation keys, and start and cancel buttons are all present and accounted for.

Finally, the control panel includes a backlit, two line text LCD for perusing menus. The X500n uses four toner cartridges black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Each cartridge is offered in regular and high capacity versions. The regular black costs $90 and yields about 2,500 prints, while the high capacity version costs $134.70 and yields about 5,000 pages.

Each regular color cartridge costs $98.45 and produces about 1,500 pages, while the high capacity versions cost $119.70 apiece and yield about 3,000 pages. Using the high capacity cartridges for best value, we estimate that a black print will cost about 2.7 cents per page, while a full color page will cost about 14.7 cents per page. Both costs are low.

Lexmark X3550

The Lexmark X3550 features the company's standard white and light gray body, with silver accents. The printer sits 17.8 inches wide, 7 inches tall, and 12.8 inches deep. The paper input support sticks up from the rear edge of the printer, and the output tray extends from the front. The input area is protected by a translucent plastic guard that deflects small objects such as paper clips and pens.

The control panel is simple and well organized. The centerpiece is the two line, backlit text LCD.

Mode buttons allow you to switch between copy, scan, and photo card tasks, while a menu key and menu navigation buttons allow you to peruse the various menus.

A settings key, a lighter or darker key, and two start buttons (color and black) round out the panel.

Additionally, the X3550 offers two built in memory card readers, as well as a PictBridge enabled USB port for PC free photo printing.

The X3550 employs a two tank ink system, which is standard for printers in this price range. Lexmark offers three tiers of pricing for ink regular capacity regular capacity with return cartridge program and high capacity. The black tank costs $24 (215 pages), $20, and $25 (550 pages), respectively, while the tricolor tank costs $26 (185 pages), $22, and $30 (500 pages), respectively.

Using the cost of the high capacity tanks for the best value, we calculate that a black only page will cost about 4.5 cents and a full color page will cost about 10.5 cents both numbers are reasonable. If you want six color photo prints, Lexmark offers an optional tricolor photo cartridge (to replace the black tank) for $25.

Lexmark Z1300

The Lexmark Z1300's simple design reflects its basic functionality. The glossy white body measures 4.8 inches tall, 16.9 inches wide, and 8.4 inches deep, and weighs a featherlight 5 pounds. The paper handling system is typical for a basic inkjet printer the 100 sheet input support juts up from the rear and the output tray pulls out from the front.

The input area is fronted by a translucent gray shield that deflects small objects such as pens and paper clips. The only other feature on the body of the Z1300 is the power button. The Z1300 employs a two tank system, which is standard for low cost inkjet printers one black cartridge and one tricolor (CMY) cartridge.

For six color photo printing, you can swap out the black tank for a tricolor photo tank. Lexmark offers three tiers of ink tank pricing regular capacity, return program (using regular capacity cartridges), and high capacity. The regular black normally costs $22 (about 175 pages), but under the return program, you can get it for $18 if you send your empty ink tanks back to Lexmark.

The high capacity tank costs $25 (about 500 pages). The equivalent color cartridges cost $23 (150 pages), $19, and $30 (475 pages), respectively. Using the high yield cartridges for best value, we estimate that a black only print will cost about 5 cents per page, while a four color page will cost about 11.3 cents per page. These numbers are in line with print costs from other low end inkjet printers. The optional photo cartridge costs $25.

Lexmark Z1420

The Z1420 is a basic, single function printer, so there isn't much to speak of when it comes to features. It does, however, include built in 802.11g/b wireless capability, unheard of in an $80 printer. During the printer installation routine, you can opt to set up the printer on your wireless network it's easy to do. A Wi-Fi icon on the front of the printer alerts you to its status.

The bundled Lexmark Imaging Studio software is useful for basic tasks, but it falls short with creative projects.

Your main options are to view print photos from your PC (individually or in packages a la grade school photos), view the photos as a slide show, make poster prints, or make photo greeting cards. The first three options work as you'd expect.

When making prints, you simply select a photo, indicate the size you want printed, and how many prints.

For layouts, the process is much the same. Creating a slide show is as simple as dragging and dropping photos into the work field and clicking "view slide show." You can even save slide shows for later viewing. When it comes to creating greeting cards, however, the options are oddly limited. You can select from a number of layouts and themes each card has a background image that dominates the print field.

Then, you get a blank photo field into which you can add one of your photos and a text field. Sadly, you can't set one of your photos as the main background, nor can you change the size and shape of the text and photo boxes.

Lexmark Z845

The Lexmark Z845 is a single function printer, which means there isn't much to speak of when it comes to features. The most notable features, in fact, are the bundled software utilities. Lexmark's Fast Pics utility helps you print photos, making the process dead simple and painless. The utility goes first to your My Pictures folder and lets you check which photos you want printed, choose the paper size, and pick how many copies.

You can even perform some minor touch ups on your images, including cropping and red eye reduction. The only drawback is that if you're printing a batch of photos, you have to pick the same number of copies for each. The ability to change the number of prints of each photo seems like a basic feature, and we don't understand why it's missing here.

The Lexmark Solution Center is a cohesive utility that guides you from the basics of setting up the printer to printing tips to projects.

It also shows you how to swap out empty ink cartridges and troubleshoot problems, and it provides contact information should you need to get in touch with customer support. The Lexmark Z845 uses a four color, two tank ink system.

It ships with the standard yield black ($18, approximately 175 pages) and tricolor ($19, approximately 150 pages) cartridges.

But when it comes to replacing the ink, the high yield versions are more economical. The 500 page black cartridge costs $25 and the 475 page high yield color cartridge costs $30. With the high yield cartridges, your per page costs work out to about 5 cents for a black page and 6.3 cents for a page of color. These costs are par for the course for inexpensive printers (low initial cost, higher cost of maintenance). For example, the per page cost for the Canon Pixma iP1700 works out to about 6 cents for a black document and 8 cents for a color document.

You can save an additional $4 per cartridge off the price of the standard cartridges by agreeing to Lexmark's Return Cartridge program. You'll get the up front discount by pledging to return the spent cartridges to Lexmark for recycling or remanufacturing. You can save yet again by signing up to get one free cartridge for every five used ones you return in a 12 month period. For better photo printing, you can replace the black tank with a tricolor photo ink tank ($25) for six color printing.